Date post: | 16-Dec-2015 |
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Types of Intellectual Property
• Copyright
• Patent
• Industrial Design
• Utility Model
• Trademark
• Trade Name
• Trade Dress
• Trade Secret
• Right of Publicity
• Technology transfer contracts, know-how, customer lists, distribution and logistics systems, topography/ circuit layout, plant breeders’ rights, etc.
What Is a Trademark?
– Word
– Symbol
– Slogan JUST DO IT.
– Product or packaging design
that identifies the source of a specific product or service and distinguishes it from others in the marketplace.
Nontraditional Marks
• Sound
• Color
• Fragrance
• Design of a business establishment
• Motion
Trademark vs. Trade/Business Name
• Trade/Business Name: identifies a company or business.
– Example: The Coca-Cola Company
• Trademark: identifies the goods or
services of that company. – Example:
Functions of a Trademark
• Indicates the source or origin of goods or services.
• Assures consumers of the quality of goods bearing the mark.
• Creates business goodwill and brand awareness.
Selecting a Mark
The more distinctive the mark, the greater its level of legal protectability. Generic marks are not capable of trademark protection. Descriptive marks are capable of protection only with a showing of secondary meaning.
Distinctiveness Spectrum
Trademark Searches
• International screening search
• Country-specific search– Trademark registers – classes/categories– Corporate names– Internet uses and domain names– Other directories/dictionaries
• Local expertise
Obtaining Trademark Rights
• Rights are territorial – may be registered through:
• Single trademark office• Regional trademark systems• Madrid (“International Registration”)
system
Obtaining Trademark Rights (cont’d)
Rights are obtained:
- By registration; or
- By use (common law rights)
Trademark Registration
• Registrability- Meets the legal requirements – that is, not generic, not
immoral, etc.
• Availability- Is not identical or confusingly similar to a prior-registered
mark or a mark that is the subject of a pending application (assuming that the application is ultimately accepted).
- Is not being used in the same market as an identical or confusingly similar mark in connection with similar goods or services.
• Application Procedure- With the national trademark office.- United States: state registration (with the secretary of state)
or federal registration (with the USPTO).
Loss of Rights
• Improper use • Failure to police
• Genericide • Failure to renew
• Non-use • Cancellation
• Improper assignmentor licensing
Loss of Rights
Registered rights Common law rights
Failure to renew
Non-use
Failure to police
Cancellation
“Use it or lose it”
Proper Use — Avoiding Genericide
• Once a trademark, not always a trademark
• Important to
police third
parties’
unauthorized
and/or
improper
use
escalator
dry ice
cellophane
aspirin
linoleum
Proper Use — Avoiding Genericide
• Use the ® symbol where appropriate
• Distinguish from surrounding text by using:
• Quotation marks – “Mercedes-Benz” cars
• Larger-sized print – Mercedes-Benz cars
• All capital letters – MERCEDES-BENZ cars
• Initial capitals – Mercedes-Benz cars
• Distinctive print – Mercedes-Benz cars
• Color – Mercedes-Benz cars
• Use the TM/SM symbol where appropriate
Proper Use — Avoiding Genericide
• Use the mark followed by a noun.Incorrect: A KLEENEX
Correct: A KLEENEX tissue
• Do not pluralize a mark.Incorrect: Two DELLSCorrect: Two DELL computers
• Do not make a mark possessive.Incorrect: POST-IT’s qualityCorrect: POST-IT note pads’ quality
• Do not use a mark as a verb.Incorrect: Xerox a document
Correct: Photocopy a document on a XEROX copier
• Use consistent, proper spelling.Incorrect: H and MCorrect: H&M
Policing and Protecting Trademarks
• Subscribe to watch services
• Internet searches
• Internal “eyes and ears”